Chairman Henry Hyde's Statement on Safety and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers before the House International Relations Committee

Congressman Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, presided over hearings on March 24 on Safety and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers. Read and comment on the written statement by the witnesses at the hearings at:

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Chairman Henry Hyde's Statement on Safety and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers before the House International Relations Committee

Good morning, and welcome to this morning's hearing of the Committee on International Relations. The purpose of today's hearing is to examine the safety and security practices of the Peace Corps. The members of this committee crafted a Peace Corps bill last year that authorizes the doubling of the Peace Corps. That measure was included in HR 1950, which passed the House by a vote of 382 to 42 in July 2003. Next week, the Committee will consider additional legislation intended to improve safety and security of our Peace Corps volunteers. Today, we will hear from a distinguished group of witnesses, each with firsthand experience in matters of safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers.

We come here as supporters of the Peace Corps; admirers of their sacrifice and of the important work they do. It is for that reason that today we wish to inquire into the adequacy of safety and security practices that will govern their assignment in dangerous places around the world.

Instead of a lengthy opening statement, I would like to read for you brief excerpts from three important documents on this topic, which we will explore and refer to throughout today's hearing.

The first excerpt is from a GAO report on Peace Corps safety and security, dated in July 2002: The Peace Corps is embarking on a major expansion of its volunteer workforce during a time of heightened risk for Americans living abroad. Providing safety and security for its volunteers is the Peace Corps' highest priority. Our review of the agency's efforts to ensure compliance with its basic safety and security policies and guidelines shows that there are cases of uneven implementation of key elements of the safety and security framework that could pose risks to volunteers. These include uneven performance in developing safe and secure housing and work sites, responding to volunteer concerns, and planning for emergencies.

The second excerpt is from a recent investigative series by the Dayton Daily News, dated October 27, 2003:

"Every minute of every day for more than two and half years now, Walter and Sheila Poirier have lived with a grim reality: They may never know what happened to their son."

"Our concentration is still on finding Walter," Sheila said. "He's probably not alive, but he may be alive."

"Long ago their grief turned to anger, and their anger is directed squarely at the Peace Corps. They believe the agency should have been watching more closely.

And they're not alone.

"We believe that the Peace Corps severely failed their people, their volunteers, and knowing what I know, there is no way I would let my children volunteer for the Peace corps unless there were some immediate changes and serious changes in the Peace Corps" said that General Accounting Office's Patrick Sullivan, who spent 23 yeas as a US Secret Service special agent. "There's no way I'd put my children or recommend to anybody I know to put their loved ones in that situation."

Sullivan and John Cooney went to Bolivia on behalf of the GAO's Office of special Investigations to review the Peace Corps' handling of the case.

The third excerpt is from the GAO report reference in the previous excerpt, dated July 20, 2001. It reads as follows:

Both the Country director and Deputy Country Director for the Peace Corps in Bolivia told us that the Associate director was not keeping close enough contact with Mr. Poirier.

The report also states:

The Associate Director also said that he became so busy supervising the other volunteers that Mr. Poirier "dropped off my radar screen." He said he made no further attempt to contact Mr. Poirier.

The GAO report is summarized in the following statement:

The Peace Corps failed to properly supervise Mr. Poirier and lost track of him.

The purpose of today's hearing is to understand the Peace Corps' efforts to develop and ensure compliance with basic safety and security policies for Peace Corps volunteers. Today's hearing will provide members with necessary background information on the problems that have existed in recent ears, and, as a case study, will examine the specific problems and management failures that led to and followed the disappearance of a volunteer in Bolivia, Walter J. Poirier.

The hearing will provide members with an opportunity to understand the policy and organizational changes made within the Peace Corps over the past two years toward the goal of improving safety and security of volunteers. The hearing will also provide members with the context for the additional legislation to be considered next week, the "Peace corps Safety and Security Act of 2004". That bill will create a more independent Inspector General, will establish the position of "Ombudsman" of the Peace Corps, and will statutorily create the Office of Safety and Security.

I look forward to today's hearing, and I now recognize my friend and colleague, the distinguished ranking member from California, Tom Lantos. March 23, 2004 - US Newswire: Hyde to introduce Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2004

Read and comment on this Press Release from the Committee on International Relations that Chairman Henry Hyde will introduce the Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2004 to create an agency ombudsman; enhance the Corps' security office; and give greater independence to the agency's Office of the Inspector General. Read the story at:

BACKGROUND: The president's intention of doubling the size of the Peace Corps comes at a time of heightened risk for Americans living abroad. Recent critical reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and an award-winning series by the Dayton Daily News illustrate uneven performance by the Peace Corps in developing safe and secure housing and worksites, responding to volunteer concerns, and planning for emergencies. Among those scheduled to testify are Walter R. Poirier, the father of missing Peace Corps volunteer Walter J. Poirier. The younger Poirier, a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, and a 2000 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, served as a volunteer in Bolivia until his disappearance in March 2001. A subsequent GAO report found that "the Peace Corps failed to properly supervise Poirier and lost track of him." Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez is expected to testify on recent policies adopted by the Peace Corps to promote the safety and security of its volunteers. Later this month, Chairman Hyde will introduce the Peace Corps Safety and Security Act of 2003 to create an agency ombudsman; enhance the Corps' security office; and give greater independence to the agency's Office of the Inspector General.

-- How does the Peace Corps monitor the safety and security of its volunteers in the field?

-- Is there a standard policy on a global or country-by- country basis that requires supervisors to visit or contact volunteers in person at a specified interval?

-- How does the Peace Corps train its volunteers, especially with respect to safety and security? After several months on assignment, do Peace Corps volunteers feel that they have been adequately prepared for their assignment?

-- Is it possible to expand the presence of the Peace Corps in additional countries while taking into account the safety of Peace Corps volunteers?

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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Congress; Hearings; Legislation; Safety and Security of Volunteers

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